Sweating to Get a 'Beginner Driver' Parking Ticket... Now 'Chak' Becomes Easier with Shuffling Steps [Report]

Hyundai Mobis Electric Drive Core Base Uiwang Research Center
Domestic Media Invited to '2024 R&D Tech Day'
World's First Developed Electric Drive New Technologies Showcase
European and Japanese Automakers Also Interested

To parallel park in a narrow space, one must repeatedly move forward and backward while steering the wheel. Beginner drivers find it difficult to park their cars close to the parking ticket machine. Ultimately, they open the car door and get out to take the parking ticket. What if an electric vehicle that moves sideways like a crab walk were introduced? Parallel parking and ticket issuance would become much easier.

Two large sports utility vehicles (SUVs) met on a narrow alley. Someone has to back up and yield to get out to the main road to resolve the situation. The demonstration vehicle Mobion, equipped with Hyundai Mobis’s ‘e-Corner System,’ can move sideways like a crab walk or rotate 360 degrees on the spot to easily get out. This is possible because each wheel has a motor that controls speed, braking, and direction. Choi Jin-sol, a researcher at Hyundai Mobis’s Next-Generation Drive System Development Team, said, "By attaching motors and corner modules to each wheel to create the system, differentiated movements such as crab driving, 360-degree rotation, and pivot turns become possible."

The demonstration vehicle 'Mobion' equipped with Hyundai Mobis' next-generation electric vehicle driving technology, the e-Corner System.
[Photo by Hyundai Mobis]

On the 2nd of last month, Hyundai Mobis invited domestic media to its Uiwang Research Center in Gyeonggi Province to hold the ‘2024 R&D Tech Day.’ This event is a kind of promotional event where Hyundai Mobis showcases its research and development achievements to its clients every two years. This year, it was opened to the public, including domestic media, demonstrating confidence in its future mobility R&D achievements. On this day, Hyundai Mobis unveiled 65 new technologies to be installed in new vehicles within the next 2 to 3 years. Among them were 15 world-first technologies, including the ‘e-Corner System,’ which enables crab walking and 360-degree rotation of vehicles.

In December last year, Hyundai Mobis consolidated its electrification R&D personnel and equipment scattered across Mabuk, Uiwang, and Seosan into a next-generation electrification technology research building in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province. This building is equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure to test battery systems (BSA), battery management systems (BMS), perform performance evaluations, and analyze quality. Upon entering the research building, booths were set up where one could get an overview of the history and current status of electrification technologies developed by Hyundai Mobis. Lee Young-guk, head of the Electrification Engineering Office, said, "With all communication happening in one building, conditions have been created for each department to work organically," adding, "The Uiwang Research Center is Hyundai Mobis’s core base to target the global electrification market."

Hyundai Mobis Uiwang Research Center exterior view [Photo by Hyundai Mobis]

On this day, Hyundai Mobis announced three major development strategies for core electrification components: drive systems, battery systems, and power conversion systems. First, in the drive system field, the focus is on developing a ‘3-in-1 drive system’ that integrates the motor, reducer, and inverter. The development goal is to make the system smaller and improve efficiency. Based on this technology, development of drive systems specialized for purpose-built vehicles (PBV) and advanced air mobility (AAM) is also underway.

In the battery system field, the focus is on developing thermal management stabilization technology. The goal is to develop a system with heat resistance and fire resistance that fundamentally prevents fires, going beyond merely delaying heat transfer. Currently, in the battery system configuration stage of battery cell-module-pack, development is also underway for ‘Cell to Pack’ technology that skips the intermediate module stage and directly assembles the pack from the battery cells. Jo Sang-chul, a researcher in the EV-BSA Development Team, said, "We are developing technologies to block heat transfer between cells using heat-dissipating materials and battery systems that automatically apply extinguishing agents when a fire occurs."

Hyundai Mobis' e-Corner system (including in-wheel motors) enabling crab driving and 360-degree rotation driving
[Photo by Hyundai Mobis]

Lastly, in the power conversion system, Hyundai Mobis is focusing on developing the next-generation Integrated Charging Control Unit (ICCU), which reduces charging time while enhancing self-resolution systems in case of problems. The ICCU is a core system responsible for electric vehicle charging and driving. Hyundai Mobis increased the ICCU output from the existing 11 kW to 22 kW, halving the charging time.

Hyundai Mobis’s electrification division sales exceeded 12 trillion won for the first time last year. In addition to supplying to affiliates Hyundai Motor Company and Kia, orders from European automakers such as Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz are gradually increasing. Executive Lee said, "Many global customers also visited this event," adding, "German customers are very interested in the battery side, while Japanese customers are focused on the ICCU side."